GAME, HMV pin 3DS price at £229.99

UPDATE:ShopTo has lowered its asking price to £199.85. It's claiming it's a "promo pre-order price" available "for a limited time only".

ORIGINAL STORY: Both GAME and HMV have pinned a £229.99 price tag on the 3DS.

Elsewhere, both Play.com and ShopTo are now asking £219.99 for the handheld, which launches on 25th March, although the latter told Eurogamer "We should point out that is a preliminary price - it may change later, but if you pre-order at that price you wont pay more than that."

GAME PR chief Neil Ashurst told Eurogamer that the retailer is looking forward to accepting pre-orders for the console.

"At GAME, our customers are already excited about the Nintendo 3DS and now that we have the official launch date, we cannot wait to show the 3DS off and begin selling it to our customers," he explained.

"It takes gaming and 3D technology to a completely different level. The opportunity to play games and watch films in 3D without the use of dedicated glasses is simply awesome and once again proves that the video games industry is at the cutting edge of technology. Everyone who has seen the 3DS in person, whether they are a core gamer or more of a social gamer, has been blown away by it."

Nintendo announced at its press conference this afternoon that pricing of its new system was in the hands of individual shops.